RICHMOND — President Barack Obama kicked off his re-election campaign Saturday with a rally at the Siegel Center at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Obama was joined by his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, U.S. Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, and former Gov. Tim Kaine. Many supporters showed up in shirts that read “Fight Back 2012.”

Obama gave an expansive defense on his record in office, while making several swipes at his likely Republican opponent this fall, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Before the crowd of 8,000, Obama lauded Romney as a “patriotic American,” but said the two men had differing visions on how to repair the U.S. economy.

“He sincerely believes that if CEOs and wealthy investors like him make money, that the rest of us will prosper as well,” Obama said. Even while criticizing Romney’s plans, Obama acknowledged many Americans still want to know when the economy will fully recover.

While in recent months the unemployment rate has declined, it still remains at 8.1 percent and job growth slowed in April.

“I told you in 2008 I wouldn’t be a perfect man, and I wouldn’t be a perfect president,” Obama said. But he said he pledged to voters “I will spend every day fighting for you as hard as I know how.”

The crowd interrupted with chants of “four more years.”

Obama also blasted Romney’s stance regarding the military, specifically the war in Afghanistan.

“He said he won’t set a timeline for ending the war in Afghanistan,” Obama said. “Well I have, and I intend to keep to that timeline. After a decade of war that’s cost of thousands of lives and more than a trillion dollars, the nation we need to build is right here.”

Obama also referred to the recent political fights in Virginia over requiring women to have ultrasounds before getting an abortion.

“We certainly don’t need another political fight over eliminating a woman’s right to choose,” Obama said.

“I want women to control their own health choices.”

Kaine, who is running for the U.S. Senate, told supporters at the rally that the economy was beginning to recover.

“The nation that was shrinking in GDP is now growing,” Kaine said. “We've now gained jobs 26 months in a row.”

In 2008, when he was governor, Kaine was mentioned as a vice-presidential candidate for Obama. Republicans have criticized Kaine during his Senate campaign for his close relationship with the President. Kaine hit back, calling himself proud to be Obama’s friend.

“Is it un-American to support the President? Is it anti-Virginian to support the Commander-in-Chief?” Kaine asked.

Obama carried Virginia in 2008, becoming the first Democrat to win the state since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

Not everyone in attendance was an Obama supporter. Republican Party Of Virginia Victory 2012 Chairman Pete Snyder was on hand along with Amanda Henneberg, a regional spokeswoman for Romney.

When Obama took the stage they stood and clapped, but remained seated for the rest of the event. Snyder said independents in Virginia were dissuaded by the president’s economic record.

“It’s been a really bad thing to be a Democrat in Virginia since he was elected,” Snyder said, referring to local and statewide elections in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Many people waited in line before 7 a.m. to hear the president speak. Jason Elazier, 36, of Newport News showed up with his wife Angela and their two children. They helped others endure the heat at mid-day by sharing popsicles and bottled water.

“I think he’s done a good job since he’s been in office,” Elazier said.